I Made It!

7/9/15

Hi from Australia everybody! I made it safely to Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bin). The flights here were not as bad as I was anticipated, and it helped that since I have a boot on my foot that I had an escort waiting for me after each flight that took me to the next gate, which made things go very smoothly. When I landed in Brisbane the escort waiting for me was named Tegan so it was really funny and confusing they were super surprised I called her by her name when in fact I was asking if she was waiting for a Tegen, that being me. She helped me go through customs and all new security which gave us access to the fast lanes and made everything a lot smoother! I freaked out a little bit because I had to take a shuttle from one airport to another in Brisbane and I quickly realized that the bus was going the wrong way around the roundabout and then realized here they drive on the opposite side of the road and of the car. When I landed here in Melbourne I was quick to find my luggage but took me awhile to find my driver, who had left to go get food. Once I found them I was joined by a couple other students either attending University of Melbourne, La Trobe, or the University of Victoria. One student was from Nashville and then the other was from Indonesia, which was pretty cool to meet him, he was very helpful and nice! It was about a 25 minute drive from the airport to my residence, during which I also realized I do not like the driving here, I am too much of a country kid to drive in the cities in MN, much less here, THEY ARE WAY WORSE! The person who helped me check-in here was very nice and answered all my questions I had. I am on the first floor of my building, but I still have to take the elevator up, because I have a key card that grants me access to the building, but also to make sure no random people end up on the floors. My room is a studio that is shared by two people although my roomie is not here yet; has its own bathroom and little kitchenette. I was provided with my own bedding, and a kitchen pack that had all the essentials to cooking. One thing that I was warned of is that in Australia if you set off a fire alarm and the fire trucks come, and it is a false alarm the fine is up to $1000 or so, CRAZY, I know. also in the building we have study lounges, a tv room, and access to the roof which is like a little hang out area that has two barbeques or barbies. Yesterday was my first full day here and I started to explore a little. I tried to find a grocery store, which I found but it was little one so I need to go to a different one to get food, but with my foot it is hard to go a half a mile to go get food and then back carrying the bags. I also tried the trams, which was definitely an adventure in itself. I went about 15 minutes on the tram to meet up with the resident director I will be working with here. On the way home from her I went a different way to explore more, and I got my phone switched to an Australian number, found a McDonalds, and a Subway. I also stopped at a little tourist shop and picked up some postcards. By the time I got back home yesterday I was exhausted but I had to make myself stay up longer or my body would be skrewed up, but I only lasted until 7pm. The day I got here I went to bed at 7 and woke up at 5:30, which worked cause I got some skyping in with Trent and my parents. Today I woke up at 7, Skyped Trent for a bit and then went back to sleep until 1, hopefully I can stay up and get on the right schedule! That is about the extent of my trip so far, nothing too exiting, just trying to take it one day at a time and not overwhelm myself. Off to go find the bigger grocery store and post office! Talk later! If you would like my address you can ask my parents or facebook me, also for my skype name, and for my texting number! I will be posting some photos here soon as well so go ahead on snapfish and look for those!

Hakuna Matata
Love you all,
Tegen